Our friends at Mendocino Grove are presenting three get-togethers featuring local food, drinks, flowers, and music! Meet the farmers, visit with friends and neighbors, and enjoy a fabulous meal and local musicians. Proceeds will be donated to the Good Farm Fund! Join us for one or all three lovely, cool evenings in nature on the coast!
June 20, 2023, Ridgewood Ranch, Willits, CA
After a three-year break, we enjoyed a productive and enriching day sharing ideas, networking, and exploring the challenges and rewards of our local farm community. Among the top topics – what are the strategies to make local farming and ranching viable? Also, round tables on selling to Farms to Schools; farm business check-in, recruiting & maintaining farm labor, medicine & full circle herbalism, restorative yoga, and more!
Thanks to all who helped organize, volunteer, present, and attend. It was a great day!
We are excited to see everyone for a day on the ranch sharing ideas, success stories, challenges, and inspiration! Please reserve your ticket early so we can prepare your tasty breakfast and lunch! Reserve tickets here
Have an idea for a breakout group? Let us know!
Email us at info@goodfarmfundgmail-com
MENDOCINO COUNTY, 4/06/23 — The Good Farm Fund has awarded over $99,000 in grants to 23 farms in Mendocino and Lake counties.
This year’s grant cycle included funding for general farm projects as well as a category for fire prevention and resilience made possible through a generous grant from the California Fire Foundation. General funds came from community donations, foundation sponsorship from Redwood Credit Union, and proceeds from farm to table events.
“We were so impressed by the breadth and depth of applications this year from new and established farms throughout both counties,” said farm grant committee member Elizabeth Archer. She and her husband own and operate Carson and Bees, a past grant recipient. Archer added, “These grants are funded by our community and help our small food-producing farms flourish, which in turn strengthens our local foodshed. It’s full-circle and a win for everyone. Each year the farm grant cycle sees trends in applications. This year included a lot of projects focused on animal husbandry, including chickens, goats, sheep, and cows.”
Since 2015, the Good Farm Fund has granted over $450,000 to small farms and ranches for critical infrastructure projects. The Good Farm Fund also supports the Market Match Program at Mendocino and Lake County farmers markets.
Good Farm Fund co-founder Caroline Radice said, “The Good Farm Fund’s emphasis is on providing direct support to farmers. Food producers in our area are a foundational piece of our community, providing nutrient dense fruits and vegetables, whole grains, pastured meats, dairy, and more. Small farms support local food security and food access, and the farmers who run them are thoughtful land stewards in a time where it is critically important. Our main focus is fundraising to continue supporting this grant program. We know it works and that it creates positive change in our community. We also know that we’re only scratching the surface of what we can accomplish.”
One of this year’s grant recipients, Melinda Price of Peace and Plenty Farm in Kelseyville, explained, “We are a bootstrap operation, without a lot of capital to build up our operation. This year’s Good Farm Fund grant will allow us to speed up the process of adding much-needed infrastructure to our business, including a new propagation house for all our seasonal starts.” She added, “We love feeding our community and look forward to providing even more fresh veggies year-round with the new equipment.”
The Good Farm Fund is a community organization dedicated to providing direct support to small farmers in Mendocino and Lake counties, as well as increasing local food access for underserved members of the community. The Good Farm Fund is a fiscally sponsored program of North Coast Opportunities, Inc., a Community Action Agency serving Lake and Mendocino counties as well as parts of Humboldt, Sonoma, Del Norte, and Solano counties. NCO reacts and adjusts to community needs, including disaster response and recovery.
Farms Receiving Grants for the 2022-2023 Funding Cycle
Farm Grants: Good Things Farm, Cerra Negro, Beach Front Farm, Folk Life Farm, Peace & Plenty Farm, Wavelength Farm, Powicana Farm, Mulligan Farm, Wildheart Farm, Golden Rule Garden, Fairall’s Farm, Big Mesa Farm, School of Adaptive Agriculture, Forest People, Irene’s Garden
Fire Prevention Grants: Logan Produce, Mancinelli Farm, Oz Farm, Mountain Seoul Farm, Benmore Valley, Happy Day Farm, Ridgewood Ranch, Covelo Farm, Big Mesa
The Good Farm Fund Winter Feast at BARRA of Mendocino on December 6 was an enormous success. Tickets sold out and we served dinner to 200+ happy people. People came early and stayed late to enjoy the food, the music, the lively auction, and the conversation. The triumphant return of the Winter Feast for the first time in three years was full of the Mendocino magic we all love and crave.
The event netted over $30,000. $20,000 will go toward the next grant cycle, and $10,000 toward the Market Match Program. We are also donating 20% of the silent auction proceeds to the Redwood Valley Rancheria community garden and food distribution program, in recognition of holding the event on unceded Indigenous land belonging to the Redwood Valley Little River Band of Pomo Indians.
We were overwhelmed with the support from our community – farmers, chefs, and businesses throughout Mendocino and Lake Counties contributed to the make the event so successful. We are forever grateful for the support and look forward to a successful year ahead.
March 13 Update: Thank you to all the farms who submitted proposals! The farm grant committee is reviewing applications and will have updates shortly.
The Good Farm Fund Grant Committee is comprised of members of the farming and food communities.
Thank you to California Fire Fund and Redwood Credit Union
for providing funding for the 2022-2023 grant cycle.
We have a winner for the Costa Rica 5-Night Getaway! Heather Paulsen will be enjoying the tropical vacation. We want to thank everyone who participated in this raffle as well as the homeowners who so generously donated a stay at their lovely home.
The funds raised from the raffle will be donated to Market Match, which provides EBT recipients with matching dollars to purchase fresh, local food.
This week, give local and enter to win five nights in a Costa Rican villa!
The Good Farm Fund has been offered the fantastic opportunity of a FIVE-NIGHT STAY AT A VILLA IN DOMENICALITO, COSTA RICA!
Set in the tropical jungle near the Pacific coast, the house sleeps 10 and features an infinity pool and second story balcony.
The offer includes a $1000 travel stipend.
🐝 WHEN YOU MAKE A $100 DONATION TO THE GOOD FARM FUND YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE ENTERED TO WIN. Buy 2 tickets and be entered twice! You get the idea. Donations are made through our secure Grapevine.org portal.
We are selling just 125 tickets for this exceptional opportunity. If you weren’t able to purchase tickets at our Winter Feast last week, now is your chance! There are just a few tickets left.
Perhaps best of all, proceeds from this fundraiser will go toward the Market Match program, which provides matching funds for low-income residents to purchase local food.
We will announce the winner on winter solstice, Wednesday, December 21, 2022. What are you waiting for?
🐝 No cash value. Travel stipend must be used for this stay.
🐝 Some date restrictions may apply
🐝 Offer good for 2023 calendar year.
Good Farm Fund is a community organization that aims to provide direct support to small farmers and increase local food security for all members of our community through or local farm mini-grants and supporting the EBT/Food Stamp Match at farmers markets. We also host fantastic farm-to-table events to celebrate local food!
🐝 🐝 🐝
The Good Farm Fund Winter Feast was a rich and warm gathering of supporters from across the spectrum – farmers, food businesses, and community partners. A sold-out crowd of 200 people shared the bounty of the very special place we call home. We are grateful for it all!
| Purchase tickets for this fantastic tropical opportunity with your event ticket or the night of the event. |
| The Good Farm Fund’s Winter Feast fundraises for two programs: Grants for small farm critical infrastructure projects and the Market Match program. This year, the Golden Ticket Raffle will fund Market Match. The Food Stamp Match (EBT) program, is the single most effective way to support local farms and make local food more affordable for low-income community members. It successfully redirects the subsidies away from industrial food in supermarkets and corner stores to local farmers by giving EBT users an additional dollar for every dollar they spend at the market (up to $15). This means they get $30 worth of produce, cheese, or meat for only $15 in EBT. Purchasing Golden Ticket Raffle tickets will help Market Match and give you a chance to win a five-night stay in this stunning villa in Domincalito, Costa Rica! |
This three-bedroom, two-bath home features an infinity pool and second-story balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean and surrounding jungle.
The villa sleeps up to 10 guests.
A tranquil, relaxing getaway.
Prize includes a $1,000 airline voucher.
Each Golden Raffle ticket is just $100
Chances of winning are great! Buy a ticket now!
Don’t delay. Buy your tickets now! We can’t wait to see everyone on December 6 for an amazing meal and party.
Stay tuned for menu details!
We are grateful for the many community sponsors of the Winter Feast:
Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Barra of Mendocino, Bewildered Pig, Black Dog Catering, Black Oak Coffee Roasters, Fogeater Cafe, Graziano Family of Wines, Handley Cellars, Kemmy’s Pies, Mendo Ferments, MendoLake Food Hub, Mendocino Outland Bartending, Mendough Catering, Mendocino College Culinary Arts Program, Patrona Restaurant, Reza’s Breadery, Stella Cadente Olive Oil, Big Mesa Farm, Carson & Bees, Covelo Organic, Fairall’s Farm, Golden Rule Garden, Green Uprising Farm, Mendocino Grain Project, Mulligan Gardens, The New Agrarian Collective, Oak Valley Farm, Pennyroyal Farm, Rivino Winery, Sean Mooney, Blue Zones Project, Cafe Beaujolais, Cold Creek Compost, Cuffy’s Cove, The Farm Mendo, Fern Foot Events, KZYX-FM, Noe Designs, North Coast Opportunities, Redwood Credit Union, Ukiah Natural Foods Co-op
